Man Utd’s Patrice Evra praises Arsenal’s new aggressive streak

Manchester United's Patrice Evra claims Arsenal were one of the most aggressive sides the French defender has faced

Patrice Evra has won five Premier League titles Photo: The Sport Review

Patrice Evra has praised Arsenal’s new aggressive streak after Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw at The Emirates on Sunday.

The home side took an early lead thanks to Theo Walcott’s opener before Bacary Sagna’s reckless challenge on Robin van Persie allowed the Dutch striker to score against his former club from the spot.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sagna and Walcott were all booked by referee Phil Dowd during the top-four clash, while the Red Devils had six players cautioned and also committed one more foul than the hosts.

And Evra praised Arsenal’s physicality against the newly-crowned champions, with the France international also praising Sir Alex Ferguson’s men for showing the spirit to recover from a poor start.

“It’s one of the most aggressive teams I have played against,” Evra told United’s website.

“It was good to see Arsenal like that. They get abuse, [with people saying they are] a team with good footballers but they are not aggressive enough. They were aggressive enough.”

He added: “But my focus is on Manchester United and I am happy with our response in the second half, even though I’m frustrated and disappointed with the result.”

“We wanted to win the game and we had more chances than Arsenal. I don’t think we started well though.

“We were sleeping a little bit after being champions last week. But in the end we showed character. We were professional and we definitely played to win the game.

“That’s why everyone was angry at half time. We really wanted to win and I think we created more chances and deserved to win.”